Programmable thermostat, am I doing it right?

LS3C6

LS3C6

Forum Member
Currently it is set as follows:

7a- 63f
8:30a - 60f
5p - 67f
11:30p - 60f

and on the weekend:

2a-60f
11a-67f

My gas bill was $99 this month which is pretty reasonable I thought, but setting the temp that low causes it to run for ~45-60mins to get from 60f back to 67f, isn't that counter productive when trying to save energy?
 
You don't want to change temp rapidly or it will cause the furnace to over run and run your bill up. Keep it within 2-3* of a reasonable level. (i.e. 65 when you're home and 63 when you're not.)
 
BigWheelinBubba said:
You don't want to change temp rapidly or it will cause the furnace to over run and run your bill up. Keep it within 2-3* of a reasonable level. (i.e. 65 when you're home and 63 when you're not.)
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but i'm not home for 8hrs a day, doesn't reducing only 2-3f defeat the purpose of having a programmable tstat or no?
 
LS3C6 said:
but i'm not home for 8hrs a day, doesn't reducing only 2-3f defeat the purpose of having a programmable tstat or no?
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That 2-3 degrees saves energy.

Think of it this way.. Everything in your house has to be heated, not just the air. The furniture, the carpet, the walls, the floors, etc. If you have to heat all of that up 5 or more degrees its going to take a lot of energy. If you have to heat it up 2-3 degrees it won't take as much.
 
BigWheelinBubba said:
That 2-3 degrees saves energy.

Think of it this way.. Everything in your house has to be heated, not just the air. The furniture, the carpet, the walls, the floors, etc. If you have to heat all of that up 5 or more degrees its going to take a lot of energy. If you have to heat it up 2-3 degrees it won't take as much.
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but for the ~16hrs a day i'm sleeping or not here, is maintaining that temperature 2-3f using more energy than setting back 7-10 degrees? that's the question
 
Only thing i can tell you is try it out for the next two months. Go from +/- 7-10* one month then +/- 2-3* the next and let us know how it reflects in your heating costs. I keep mine right on 70* all the time unless i get cold for whatever reason then i pump it up to 72. It returns to 70 again in the next program cycle.
 
me heating and cooling guy told me, and also I beleive, that changing the thermostat to a lower temp while your not home, is a waste of time. Like was said, you have to heat the walls, the floors, the furniture, etc...thus running the furnace more when it has to kick back on. Thus making the blower motor and the electricals kick on and off more. Same in the summer.

I leave it at 68 24 hours a day in the winter, and like 72 in the summer 24 hours a day.


set it, and forget it. :)
 
I run mine at 66* during the day and 60* at night, I shut it down at 10pm and it comes back on at 6am. It runs for a while in the morning but when it shuts down at night it has a 6* drop of not running which takes longer then it takes to bring the heat back up in the am. Most programmable units can tell you how many hours your heat runs in the day so you can do a compare on that as long as two days in a row are similar temp/wind wise.

Here is a snip from the US department of energy. *You can save as much as 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours. You can do this automatically by installing an automatic setback or programmable thermostat.*

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/thermostats.html
 
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its the same as fuel efficiency in your car,great hwy and worse city,when its off for more than 8 hrs and is fired up and runs for 15 minutes,the furnace is running its most efficiently.I am an residential hvac tech for the largest co in Rochester,NY.It really works too,its how I set my system.
 
barettabob said:
its the same as fuel efficiency in your car,great hwy and worse city,when its off for more than 8 hrs and is fired up and runs for 15 minutes,the furnace is running its most efficiently.I am an residential hvac tech for the largest co in Rochester,NY.It really works too,its how I set my system.
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so continue with my 7-10 degree drop on offpeak or what?
 
The Man said:
me heating and cooling guy told me, and also I beleive, that changing the thermostat to a lower temp while your not home, is a waste of time. Like was said, you have to heat the walls, the floors, the furniture, etc...thus running the furnace more when it has to kick back on. Thus making the blower motor and the electricals kick on and off more. Same in the summer.

I leave it at 68 24 hours a day in the winter, and like 72 in the summer 24 hours a day.


set it, and forget it. :)
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Have you tried varying it ever.

According to consumers it is best to turn it down when you are away, but not more than 6 degrees.

I did a test last winter leaving it at one temp all the time for a month and then varying it. I had a HUGE bill for leaving it at one temp.

I have heard that AC should be left at one temp, but I don't have central air, so I don't know about that.

To the OP vary it no more than 6 degrees and your good.
 
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